Dick Devos and the FAA

Have you seen the latest from the DeVos family in Washington? Dick DeVos has recently joined the Management Advisory Council created by the FAA to help with policies, regulations, budgets, and future planning. While the civilian board doesn’t make any decisions, the FAA works with each individual for advice in different matters. There are former transportation officials and airline executives who also work with the FAA to formulate different policies.

While the aviation industry has stabilized in the past few years, there are still issues regarding employment, training, technology, and security. Many airlines in other countries and airport as well have surpassed the US with different technology concerning flight control and operations, as well as airport amenities. Dick DeVos has been working with the Gerald R. Ford International Airport and several airlines to help fix that.

One of the issues facing the FAA is what to do about regulations and security, as many of the regulations cause long lines, increased anxiety around flying, and still further issues with new technology. The latest airports are now using more digital check-ins and prechecks to allow for more faster flight accessibility. As many people have said, airline companies in other countries have been far more competitive at keeping passengers happy and connected.

Dick DeVos knows what it’s like to change something entirely. He helped the Gerald R. Ford International Airport bring in new terminals and grow its ticket sales exponentially in a matter of a few months. He spoke with the CEO of Air Tran Airways on behalf of the airport in order to bring in new flights to Denver, Las Vegas, St. Louis, and Orlando. The new expansion did the trick, and when Southwest took over Air Tran, Devos spoke to the CEO about keeping the new terminals.

It has been a struggle sometimes for DeVos to work on a variety of projects. He has been focused on building the area of Grand Rapids for some time. The city that once had a stagnant economic center is now booming. The DeVos Family Foundation has something to do with that. Together, they raised $134 million for different charities, performing arts centers, medical schools, and education in the state of Michigan. In addition, DeVos worked with business leaders in the area to form Grand Action. That led to the formation of the DeVos Performing Arts Center and DeVos Convention Center.